And that means that it is time for us to reflect on 2014, which has certainly been eventful for Tinseltown.

There have been several losses and new additions to the industry’s A-listers,while others maintained their top spots and broke certain records.

Countless topics set the world abuzz in 2014, and, according to Google, here’s what some of them are:

Losing Robin Williams and others

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Yes, Hollywood loses actors every year, but losing Robin Williams was certainly a different story. One of the most adored and respected entertainers in the world, the 63-year-old Oscar winner took his own life in August 2014. Needless to say, many of Williams’ fans, friends and colleagues are still recovering from this traumatic news.

Williams emerged as 2014’s top search globally, beating out the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Ebola, Malaysian Airlines and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (in that order).

Williams’ death also led to a tripled increase in searches for “depression” (which the comedian suffered from), and an 11 times increase in searches for “genie aladdin” (the beloved Disney character voiced by Williams). His top five most searched for films were (in descending order) Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poets’ Society, Good Will Hunting, Jumanji and Patch Adams. His most searched television show was his breakthrough performance in Mork & Mindy, and searches for Hookincreased 10 times as the world revisited Williams’ portrayal of a grown-up Peter Pan.

Naturally, Williams was the most searched of all the people we lost in 2014, followed by actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, television personality Peaches Geldof, Hollywood legend Shirley Temple and author Maya Angelou.

J-Law: Google’s ‘Girl on Fire’

Image source: forbes.com

No surprises here. With two hit movies that grossed a combined total of $1.4 billion this year (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and X-Men: Days of Future Past), 2014’s top-grossing actor emerged as the most searched-for person in the world. She held the #7 spot in the same category last year.

Following Jennifer Lawrence are Kim Kardahsian (#2), French actress Julie Gayet (#3), comedian Tracy Morgan (#4) and Renee Zellweger (#5), who set tongues wagging and the Internet abuzz with her plastic surgery.

Naturally, Lawrence was also the most searched actress in the United States, followed by Zellweger, Betty White, Ellen Page (who came out in February 2014) and Kim Novak.

Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey: Soaring Stars

Image source: tsumujikaze2.blog.so-net.ne.jp

Snagging the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his impressive performance in Dallas Buyers Club and accepting the award with an even more memorable speech, it is no wonder that Jared Leto shot to the top of various charts in 2014.

The actor and lead singer of 30 Seconds to Mars was the sixth most searched-for person globally. The social media darling’s Oscar win, which increased searches for “Jared Leto Oscar” by 28 times, was still not enough to beat out searches for his Instagram account. His Oscar acceptance speech set the Internet abuzz, as he heartwarmingly said to those with HIV, “Tonight, I stand here in front of the world with you and for you.” Oh, and his tree-hugging meme also led to a seven times increase in searches for memes associated with the actor.

Google also became the venue for something of a showdown between Leto and his Oscar-winning Dallas Buyers Club co-star Matthew McConaughey. The two actors were the top two most searched actors in the United States, with Leto coming in at #1 and McConaughey at #2.

Leto lead in searches for the first half of 2014, but the tables turned in the second half when McConaughey had more big projects; the actor starred in the crime series True Detective and took his further rise to stardom to a literal level with the hit Interstellar. Searches for both True Detective and Interstellar experienced tremendous growth.

Breaking records: Frozen and the Oscars

Image source: dailymail.co.uk

We still won’t “let it go”.

With a whopping $1.274 billion in the bag, everyone’s favourite Frozenis the highest-grossing animated film of all time and the most searched movie of 2014.

Image source: Facebook / The Ellen DeGeneres Show

2014’s 86th Academy Awards, hosted by the hilarious Ellen DeGeneres, was the most searched Oscars ceremony in history. The famed Oscar selfie (perhaps the most star-studded group selfie ever) was the most searched selfie in the United States.

Weddings and babies: Kardashian and Kunis

Image source: eonline.com

Hollywood saw plenty of celebration in 2014 as well. Wedding bells were constantly ringing, with the Kim Kardashian-Kanye West union as the most searched wedding of the year. It was followed by George Clooney’s marriage to Amal Alamuddin (he finally did it!) and the official Brangelina union (they finally did it!).

Baby showers and announcements were also abuzz, with Mila Kunis topping the list of most searched-for pregnancies in the United States. Her daughter with Ashton Kutcher, Wyatt Isabelle, was born on September 30, 2014. Countless other celeb pregnancies attracted attention among Americans as well, including singers Ciara (#2) and Carrie Underwood (#6), and actresses Kerry Washington (#5), Scarlett Johansson (#7), Hayden Panettiere (#8), Blake Lively (#9) and Eva Mendes (#10). Also appearing on the list was actual royalty, with Kate Middleton herself at #4. And, of course, what’s a trending-in-Hollywood list without a Kardashian (Kourtney at #3)?

In anticipation: Gone Girl

Image souec: screencrush.com

The world was clearly excited for the highly anticipated thriller this year. Gone Girl, which was released to critical acclaim, had the most searched trailer globally and in the United States.

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About the author

Deborah Wee is an entertainment-obsessed college student equipped with worryingly detailed Hollywood trivia.Read more